March 1992. FBI Academy, Quantico, Virginia.
Morning sunlight streamed through the large windows of the FBI Academy as Dr. Dana Scully arrived at her office, at work early to prepare for the last day of classes before the exam period. The hallway was empty; the only noise was the click of her heels as she walked and the sound of her keys jingling as she opened her office door. It was a peaceful feeling. Entering the small room, she hung up her coat and purse and unlocked the grey filing cabinet. Pulling out a file marked FS120 Lecture 10, she sat at her desk and began to read.
The course she was teaching was Introduction to Forensic Science, a required course for all new agents at the FBI Academy. The students affectionately called it "the autopsy class," and it was both loved and hated for the same reason- during one of the labs, the students had to witness an autopsy on a real corpse, drawing up their own reports on the cause of death. For the last two years, Scully had performed the autopsy, receiving a mixture of admiration and disgust from the young FBI trainees.
Dana Scully was young herself. At 28, she was a medical doctor who had excelled in her residency in forensic medicine and been recruited by the FBI upon graduation. Her second year teaching forensic pathology was drawing to a close. She would give her last lecture today, "The Role of Forensic Specialists in Determining Cause of Death." After that, her next task would be marking exams.
Satisfied that all her notes and examples were in place, she stuffed the material back in the folder and opened the side drawer of her desk. She removed a cassette player and plugged it in, adding the cassette tape for today's lecture to the machine. When her earphones were in place she pressed play, and the sound of her own voice filled her ears.
"Many professionals help with the post mortem study of the victim's body in addition to the forensic pathologist," lectured Scully's recorded voice. "To name a few, there are forensic toxicologists, forensic serologists, firearms examiners, trade evidence examiners, and forensic entomologists. The role of the forensic toxicologist is to determine the relationship between exposure to toxic chemicals and the noxious effects on the body by studying bodily fluids such as blood, urine, bile and eye fluids. Toxic chemicals can be ingested, inhaled, injected or absorbed through the skin..."
After listening to the entire lecture, she checked her watch. Nine forty-five. Time to go to the auditorium and set up her microphone and projector. Returning the cassette player to the desk drawer and hugging the file folder to her chest, she locked the office door and left for the auditorium.
Students were already filing in the door when she arrived.
"Good morning, Professor Scully."
"Good morning, Matthews, Saunders," she smiled. By ten o'clock, Dr Scully had set the first notes on the projector and was reminding the students what to study for exams.
"Remember, all the material could be on the exam, from the first lecture to today's, as well as all the labs. Please study How We Die, Methods of Identifying the Victim, Establishing the Time of Death, the External Examination, the Internal Examination, and the Role of Forensic Specialists. There will be 80 multiple choice questions and four long-answer questions. The exam will be in this room on the 23rd at 10am." She paused as students took notes.
"Today's lecture will touch on the different roles of forensic specialists who aid in the post mortem study. We'll start with the forensic toxicologists. The role of the forensic toxicologist is to study the effects of toxic substances on the body..."
As she lectured, Scully felt relaxed and content. Things were winding down now. The students would be studying for the next three weeks and during this time she would be free to relax after a busy semester. She was looking forward to a visit with her family. After the exams, she would be busy once again, adding up the scores to the multiple choice questions and meticulously grading the long answers.
At the end of the lecture she reminded her class of the exam times and then shut off the projector. Some students filed out of the room and other stayed behind to ask questions.
"Professor? Will we have to remember the weight of the bodily organs?"
"Will we have to know the tests to determine the presence of different toxins?"
"There won't be any questions about flies laying eggs in the corpse, will there? I'll have to take Gravol before the exam!"
Scully laughed at this last one. "All the material is fair game," she answered, "but you won't have to remember the exact weights of bodily organs, they vary from person to person anyway."
When all the students had filed out, Scully noticed that Agent Kelly, the Dean of New Agent Education, was waiting by the doorway. How long had he been there?
"Good morning, Dean Kelly," Scully greeted him, "Can I help you?"
"Yes, Professor," he answered, and quickly looked away.
Frowning, Scully gathered her things and joined him in the doorway. There was something disconcerting about the way his eyes seemed to be looking everywhere but at her.
"Could you come to my office right away?" he asked.
"Yes sir," Scully answered, following him.
He didn't say anything else. They walked down the hallway to his office in silence. The building had seemed quiet to Scully at eight this morning, but now, despite the presence of students and staff in the hallways and classrooms, it seemed to Scully even quieter. Why was Dean Kelly avoiding her gaze?
When they reached his office, he closed the door behind them and motioned for her to sit. Scully sat, keeping the file folder of course materials across her lap. He sat down across from her, his gaze fixated on a folder on his own desk. He opened it and closed it again without a word. Scully waited.
"I've just found out a few minutes ago," he finally spoke. She waited for the second half of the sentence.
"Yes?" she prompted.
"You've been reassigned," he finally finished. "They're putting you in the field instead of in the classroom."
He waited for her to digest this before continuing.
"Agent Blevins over in D.C. needs someone with medical expertise to assist another agent in the field. He chose you. He wants you moved right away."
He stared at the file folder on his desk. Scully sat in shocked silence at first. Finally she stammered, "R-right away?"
"Yes. One week from today you'll meet with Agent Blevins at his office in D.C. for your assignment."
Scully couldn't think of what else to say.
"To be honest, Doctor, this comes as a shock to me, too," Dean Kelly admitted. "I was counting on you teaching again next year, but Blevins apparently was impressed by your background and your performance reviews here and decided you'd be the person he needed to fill a position."
After a pause, Scully inquired, "If I have to start this new assignment right away, what about the exams?"
"We have plenty of teaching assistants who can mark exams. They'll be happy to get the overtime pay, I'm sure."
"You mentioned that I would be assisting another agent. Do you know who?"
He opened the file again. "An Agent Fox Mulder. He works out of the J. Edgar Hoover Building. This letter doesn't say, but I assume you'll be getting an office there. You will have to move to D.C."
"Wow, one week to move to D.C."
"The bureau can cover moving expenses, of course."
Scully stared into space, trying to absorb the news. Another moment of silence went by.
Dean Kelly smiled a weak smile in her direction. "I'll be sad to lose you, Doctor. You've done a great job with the forensic pathology course."
"Thank you, sir."
"You'll have to go to human resources sometime today. They'll have some paperwork for you to fill out."
"I'll go right after lunch."
"This is a promotion, Scully. You should be proud."
"Thank you, sir."
"Oh, and make sure you have a decent gun."
Scully shook his hand and turned out of his office. Walking back down the hallway, she felt like she was moving through glue. Her legs were rubber. When she was almost at the door to her office, the file folder dropped out of her hands and papers flew all over the hallway.
"Shit!" she hissed under her breath. When she bent over to pick them up, her friend and colleague Brenda Taylor appeared from around the corner.
"Hi, Dana," she chirped, "Bad Monday morning? Let me help." Taylor picked up some of the papers and handed them to her colleague.
"How's about some lunch? And maybe you need a coffee, girl!" she smiled.
Scully sighed. "Lunch sounds great. No coffee," and she unlocked her office door. "I'm anxious enough already."
Taylor's face softened. "What's wrong, girlfriend? Something happen?"
"Yes."
"What?"
"I'm leaving Quantico. I have to move to D.C. this week. I'm going to be a field agent investigating cases."
Saying it out loud undid her. She drew in a sharp intake of breath and sniffed.
"Oh, girl, this is great! You're going to be a fantastic agent! You'll be solving cases with the boys, fighting criminals!"
"Yeah," Scully answered. "Fighting criminals..." her voice trailed off.
"I'll miss you though. You have to call me every day when you get there! Oh, girlfriend, what'll I do without you!" and she hugged her friend tightly, finally putting a smile on Scully's face.
"I'll miss you too, Brenda," she said. She locked up her course files and they went to lunch, Taylor offering words of encouragement and Scully trying to focus on breathing in and out.